Today, DOR certified to the Legislature's Joint Finance Committee the percentage change in the CPI to be used in determining the inflation factor under the expenditure restraint program. The Department certified that the annual average annual percentage change in the CPI for the 12 months ending on September 30 is 0.9 percent. (Note that while the number was actually 0.93, as I reported in last week's Capitol Buzz, DOR's policy is to round down.)  

This inflation factor pertains to municipal budgets for 2017, which will determine eligibility for ERP payments in 2018.  A municipality's non-debt general fund budget expenditure increase from 2016 to 2017 must be less than the sum of the 0.9 percent increase in CPI plus 60% of the community's net new construction percentage during 2015 (up to a maximum 2 percent) in order to qualify for ERP payments in 2018. DOR will officially notify communities of their allowable 2017 budget increase for ERP purposes within the next week.